September 07, 2008

Nippon to supply YP47 steel for container ships to Hyundai Heavy

It is reported that Nippon Steel's high crack arrest ability type yield stress 47kgf/mm2 high strength steel plate YP47kg steel has been adopted for large container ships built by Korea Hyundai Heavy Industries. This is the first time that YP47kg steel being used for ships for construction by an overseas shipbuilder.

YP47kg steel, combining crack arrest ability with strength, has been developed for increasing in size of container ships by Nippon Steel jointly with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

By using the high arrest ability type steel plate for the hatch side coaming and the upper deck, which are the most important parts for a ship's structural strength, even in the event of brittle fractures occurring in the hull, cracking can be arrested in the parts, thus securing even higher levels in a vessel's structural integrity and safety. These high strength steel plates also contribute to down gauging and down weighting and the resulting greater fuel economy. This steel plate also makes it possible for a container ship to be loaded with more containers.

All such performance of YP47kg steel has been recognized since it was adopted last year for the series of six large container ships carrying 8100 containers each. It has already been used for about 30 container ships within Japan and abroad, including the large order from Hyundai this time.

Nippon Steel said that to respond to the growing demand mainly on the shipbuilding and energy field, it has been making large investments in the plate mill of the Oita Works, while also implementing measures for enhancing the capacity for high grade steel plates.